Group standard VW 10540-1

Issue 2019-02
Class. No.: 01155

Descriptors: code, damage analysis, manufacturer, manufacturer's code, manufacturer’s code, marking, vehicle part,
warranty

Manufacturer's Code
for Vehicle Parts

Previous issues
VW 10540-1: 1972-10, 1999-06, 2005-06, 2006-06, 2011-07, 2012-07, 2014-01

Changes
The following changes have been made to VW 10540-1: 2014-01:
– Section 2; 1st paragraph changed; 2nd to 5th paragraph deleted
– Figure 1 and Figure 2 updated
– Standard edited

1 Scope
Vehicle parts and function groups that are
– purchased as ready-to-install parts from suppliers,
– partially supplied by suppliers,
– taken from current production as original or accessory parts or
– manufactured in-house as original or accessory parts
must be marked with a permanent and easily legible three-character manufacturer's code (alpha-
betical or alphanumerical). In order to guarantee unambiguity, the manufacturer's code must be ap-
plied on the part in an isolated location.
Parts must be marked with the manufacturer's code so that precise damage analysis and quality
monitoring can be carried out if necessary and so that the manufacturer can always be identified in
warranty and product liability cases.

Always use the latest version of this standard.

This electronically generated standard is authentic and valid without signature. A comma is used as the decimal sign. Page 1 of 4
The English translation is believed to be accurate. In case of discrepancies, the German version controls.

Technical responsibility The Standards department

K-ILI/5 Uwe Stüber K-ILI
K-ILI/5 Uwe Stüber Tel.: +49 5361 9 29063 Tel.: +49 5361 9 29063 Uwe Wiesner
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be provided to third parties or reproduced without the prior consent of one of the Volkswagen Group’s Standards
departments.
© Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft VWNORM-2018-11
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VW 10540-1: 2019-02

Manufacturer's codes are defined for all manufacturers and their individual production sites that
supply vehicle parts to the Volkswagen Group and its brands, including its subsidiaries/associate
companies.
The manufacturer's codes are assigned on request. The codes are sent to the manufacturer elec-
tronically via the ONE.Konzern Business Plattform or by e-mail.
Manufacturer's codes for foreign Group companies are sometimes issued separately according to
the issuing ranges defined in VW 10540-3. The contacts for assigning manufacturer's codes in the
Group companies abroad are likewise available via the ONE.Konzern Business Plattform.
Suppliers can access information on contacts and procedures via the ONE.Konzern Business
Plattform.
A list of all manufacturer's codes (only for internal use) and contacts for the assignment of the
manufacturer's code is available on the homepage Standards.
The marking of vehicle parts is not obligatory for:
– Standard parts
– Semi-finished products
– Parts for which marking is not possible because of space limitations and/or on which the mark-
ing cannot be applied in a legible manner (see DIN 1450 for a definition).
For parts which, due to their nature, cannot be marked with the manufacturer's code as per this
standard, alternative forms of marking, e.g. attaching the manufacturer's code by means of labels,
must be agreed between the responsible engineering department, the manufacturer, and the de-
partment assigning the manufacturer's code. Exception: For valve springs, color markings as per
VW 10540-7 are assigned to the manufacturers as the manufacturer's code.

2 Requirements
The marking requirements as per VW 10500 must be observed.
If possible, the code characters must be half the size of the logo diameter "d1" or the logo height
"h" as per VW 10514. However, the font size must never be less than 2 mm.
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For the marking, the typeface specified in DIN 1451-4 must be used (medium-spaced lettering). All
letters must be capitalized. To avoid confusion, the number 0 (zero) and the letters I and Q must
not be used.
The following are permitted code formats:
– Number letter letter, e.g., "2BR" for Volkswagen do Brasil
– Letter letter number, e.g., "XX1" for Skoda Auto a.s.
– Letter letter letter, e.g., "WWO" for Volkswagen Wolfsburg
– Letter number letter, e.g., "A1A". This format applies to those foreign factories authorized to
assign a manufacturer's code as per VW 10540-3, if an issuing range has been assigned to
them in this regard.

3 Example of a marking and drawing specification

3.1 Example of a marking on a vehicle part

See figure 1.

Figure 1 – Example for a part marking as defined in VW 10500

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VW 10540-1: 2019-02

3.2 Drawings entry (text macro: VW 01014, NO-E2)

See figure 2.

Legend
1 Font height of the manufacturer's code on the part = 3 mm
2 Standard VW 10540-1; for valve springs, VW 10540-7 must be specified at this point
Figure 2 – Part marking (drawing specification)

4 Applicable documents
The following documents cited are necessary to the application of this document:
Some of the cited documents are translations from the German original. The translations of Ger-
man terms in such documents may differ from those used in this standard, resulting in terminologi-
cal inconsistency.
Standards whose titles are given in German may be available only in German. Editions in other
languages may be available from the institution issuing the standard.

VW 01014 Drawings; Drawing Frames and Text Macros

VW 10500 Company Designation, Marking of Parts; Guidelines for Use
VW 10514 Logos; Marking of Vehicle Parts
VW 10540-3 Manufacturer's Code; Issuing Ranges for Foreign Plants Issuing Manu-
facturer’s Codes
VW 10540-7 Identification of Valve Springs
DIN 1450 Lettering - Legibility
DIN 1451-4 Typefaces; lineal linear-antiqua; stenciled lettering for engraving and oth-
er processes